Self-Esteem

Our self-esteem is partnered with our depression. In our depression self-esteem has tanked. It’s face down in a dark pit. We view ourselves as less than worthy. We see ourselves as unimportant to the world around us. Self-esteem is our overall opinion of yourself, including your self-worth, self-respect, and confidence in your own abilities. It shapes how you view your value as a person and how you handle life. When our self-esteem is low we feel as if we don’t have purpose. The apostle Paul wrote, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?” (2 Corinthians 3:1).

To commend means to praise formally, to recommend, or to entrust someone or something into another's care. This is what Paul is saying. He’s asking us if we are seeking praise from others. Have we entrusted our worth to others? Our worth should be impacted by what others think, say, or do. Our self-esteem is low because we are seeking validation from outside sources. We are listening to what other people are saying, or not saying, about us. Our seeking validation is in the wrong place. Instead of listening to what the world is saying, we should be listening to what God says. God has a lot to say to us that can give our self-esteem a boost. When we listen to the right voices we find our self-esteem improves. 

As I said God has a lot to say about us and everything He says comes from the great love He has for us. So let’s take a look at some of the things God says about who we are. Let’s start at the beginning. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image,  in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We are not accidents. God purposefully created us in HIs image. If we are created in the image of God then God has a proper view of us. It’s a view that is pure, not tainted by bias or misunderstanding. God knows us and approves of us so worldly opinion shouldn’t matter. If we have placed our trust in Jesus and through faith believe in Him then we are children of God. “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1). God’s love is so great that He adopts us into His family through Jesus. We are His children. 

This adoption makes us heirs with Jesus. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Romans 8:17). As an heir with Jesus we get everything He has. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9). We are God’s special possession, holy and pleasing to God. We have been set apart from the world for God. When we accept what the world says about, we are placing the world ahead of God. We are placing the world’s opinion of us on the throne of our life. Putting God back in His rightful place in our lives will have a definitive impact on our self-esteem. Let’s focus more on what God says about us, and less on worldly opinions.